6:1 耶和華的約櫃在非利士人之地七個月。
6:2 非利士人將祭司和占卜的聚了來，問他們說：「我們向耶和華的約櫃應當怎樣行？請指示我們用何法將約櫃送回原處。」
6:3 他們說：「若要將以色列上帝的約櫃送回去，不可空空地送去，必要給他獻賠罪的禮物，然後你們可得痊癒，並知道他的手為何不離開你們。」
6:4 非利士人說：「應當用甚麼獻為賠罪的禮物呢？」他們回答說：「當照非利士首領的數目，用五個金痔瘡，五個金老鼠，因為在你們眾人和你們首領的身上都是一樣的災。
6:5 所以當製造你們痔瘡的像和毀壞你們田地老鼠的像，並要歸榮耀給以色列的上帝，或者他向你們和你們的神，並你們的田地，把手放輕些。
6:6 你們為何硬著心像埃及人和法老一樣呢？上帝在埃及人中間行奇事，埃及人豈不釋放以色列人，他們就去了嗎？
6:7 現在你們應當造一輛新車，將兩隻未曾負軛有乳的母牛套在車上，使牛犢回家去，離開母牛。
6:8 把耶和華的約櫃放在車上，將所獻賠罪的金物裝在匣子裡，放在櫃旁，將櫃送去。
6:9 你們要看看：車若直行以色列的境界到伯．示麥去，這大災就是耶和華降在我們身上的；若不然，便可以知道不是他的手擊打我們，是我們偶然遇見的。」
6:10 非利士人就這樣行：將兩隻有乳的母牛套在車上，將牛犢關在家裡，
6:11 把耶和華的約櫃和裝金老鼠並金痔瘡像的匣子都放在車上。
6:12 牛直行大道，往伯．示麥去，一面走一面叫，不偏左右。非利士的首領跟在後面，直到伯．示麥的境界。
6:13 伯．示麥人正在平原收割麥子，舉目看見約櫃，就歡喜了。
6:14 車到了伯．示麥人約書亞的田間，就站住了。在那裡有一塊大磐石，他們把車劈了，將兩隻母牛獻給耶和華為燔祭。
6:15 利未人將耶和華的約櫃和裝金物的匣子拿下來，放在大磐石上。當日伯．示麥人將燔祭和平安祭獻給耶和華。
6:16 非利士人的五個首領看見，當日就回以革倫去了。
6:17 非利士人獻給耶和華作賠罪的金痔瘡像，就是這些：一個是為亞實突，一個是為迦薩，一個是為亞實基倫，一個是為迦特，一個是為以革倫。
6:18 金老鼠的數目是照非利士五個首領的城邑，就是堅固的城邑和鄉村，以及大磐石。這磐石是放耶和華約櫃的，到今日還在伯．示麥人約書亞的田間。
6:19 耶和華因伯．示麥人擅觀他的約櫃，就擊殺了他們七十人；那時有五萬人在那裡（原文是七十人加五萬人）。百姓因耶和華大大擊殺他們，就哀哭了。
6:20 伯．示麥人說：「誰能在耶和華這聖潔的上帝面前侍立呢？這約櫃可以從我們這裡送到誰那裡去呢？」
6:21 於是打發人去見基列．耶琳的居民，說：「非利士人將耶和華的約櫃送回來了，你們下來將約櫃接到你們那裡去吧！」
When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory
seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the
diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back
to its place.”
3 They
answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to
him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be
healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”
4 The
Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
They
replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the
Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
5 Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying
the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from
you and your gods and your land. 6 Why do you harden your
hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with
them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
7 “Now
then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been
yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take
the ark of the Lord and put it on
the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to
him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep
watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on
us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck
us but that it happened to us by chance.”
10 So
they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned
up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the
chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then
the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing
all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the
Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now
the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when
they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The
cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a
large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows
as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The
Levites took down the ark of the Lord,
together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the
large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and
made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The
five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to
Ekron.
17 These
are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each for Ashdod, Gaza,
Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the number of the gold rats
was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five
rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which
the Levites set the ark of the Lord
is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But
God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy[a] of them to
death because they looked into the ark of the Lord.
The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. 20 And the people of
Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the
ark go up from here?”
21 Then
they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines
have returned the ark of the Lord.
Come down and take it up to your town.”
***************
耶和華的約櫃在非利士人中間造成不小的傷害，讓他們覺悟到不可以繼續將約櫃留在非利士，於是他們就找祭司和占卜的聚了來，問他們說：「我們向耶和華的約櫃應當怎樣行？請指示我們用何法將約櫃送回原處。」
這些人或許明白上帝的心意，就告訴非利士人：「若要將以色列上帝的約櫃送回去，不可空空地送去，必要給他獻賠罪的禮物，然後你們可得痊癒，並知道他的手為何不離開你們。」
非利士人說：「應當用甚麼獻為賠罪的禮物呢？」他們回答說：「當照非利士首領的數目，用五個金痔瘡，五個金老鼠，因為在你們眾人和你們首領的身上都是一樣的災。所以當製造你們痔瘡的像和毀壞你們田地老鼠的像，並要歸榮耀給以色列的上帝，或者他向你們和你們的神，並你們的田地，把手放輕些。你們為何硬著心像埃及人和法老一樣呢？上帝在埃及人中間行奇事，埃及人豈不釋放以色列人，他們就去了嗎？現在你們應當造一輛新車，將兩隻未曾負軛有乳的母牛套在車上，使牛犢回家去，離開母牛。把耶和華的約櫃放在車上，將所獻賠罪的金物裝在匣子裡，放在櫃旁，將櫃送去。你們要看看：車若直行以色列的境界到伯．示麥去，這大災就是耶和華降在我們身上的；若不然，便可以知道不是他的手擊打我們，是我們偶然遇見的。」
可見這些人還有些小聰明，知道要尊重上帝的主權！因為上帝是照其主權行事的上帝，是任何力量都無法阻擋的！只可惜他們不認耶和華上帝為他們的主，當然人是無法靠自己的方式來和上帝建立合宜關係，這也是我們今日要有的認知，因為上帝是不受人控制，反過來是人要敬畏與順服上帝！
在這裡另一個讓人震驚的事就是：「耶和華因伯．示麥人擅觀他的約櫃，就擊殺了他們七十人；那時有五萬人在那裡（原文是七十人加五萬人）。百姓因耶和華大大擊殺他們，就哀哭了。」
由這樣的一件事，再次提醒我們上帝是聖的，也就是不可以侵犯的，尤其是我們有罪的人，怎能用眼觀看上帝的榮耀？就像以賽亞書6章2節的記載：「其上有撒拉弗侍立，各有六個翅膀：用兩個翅膀遮臉，兩個翅膀遮腳，兩個翅膀飛翔；」知道連侍立在上帝面前的天使都不敢看上帝的威嚴榮光，人豈可侵犯這樣的榮耀呢？
當然在新約時代，正如希伯來書10章19-20節說：「弟兄們，我們既因耶穌的血得以坦然進入至聖所，是藉著他給我們開了一條又新又活的路，從幔子經過，這幔子就是他的身體。」
雖然我們可以藉由主耶穌和上帝建立合宜的關係，被上帝接納為兒女，我們還對上帝要有敬畏的心，順服在祂大能的手下！不要自立權柄，唯有上帝是權柄！不要高舉自己，只有高舉主耶穌並尊上帝為大！
